Chapter 275

Manager’s unnecessary information had made things a little awkward… Some people really needed to learn how to read the room…

“Seriously…”

“What is it, Asagi? You sound strange.”

“Uh, nothing.”

The shock of it all had caused me to switch to a Kansai accent. But I was fine now!

“So, we just need to kill this spider monster…no, wait. You guys are trying to get out, right?”

“Yes, that’s right…”

“Then you’re going the wrong way. Go in the direction that we came and it will lead you outside.”

“Damn it… So you’re saying we’ve been going in deeper all this time?”

That was an impressive skill in itself. A completely useless one. They were trying to get out. We were trying to reach the center. This is where our paths should split. However, killing this monster would put us all at ease. After all, it could attack us from behind.

“Then you should take this map with you!”

“Map? You’ve created a map already… Are you sure? This would be very valuable.”

“Don’t worry, the entire map is inside of my head!”

Lemon sure was brilliant.

And so Rex accepted the map from her and bowed his head and over and over again.

“To be honest, I was close to giving up. But I wanted to press on for their sake… Maybe I was reminded of that time when you helped us against the wyvern.”

“Well, I think most people would help someone in need who was right in front of them. I didn’t do anything special.”

“True… True!”

Rex said as he slapped me heavily on the back. While he had split up from the others, he still lived as an Adventurer. Even though his path had changed, his character had not. I couldn’t help but smile.

“Thank you so much, Mister Asagi. I have heard the stories about you.”

“Aye, they say you are a skilled Adventurer who is a weapons enthusiast.”

The plump and polite elderly man, Lime. And the wild and easy-going young man, Rerik. I turned to them and scratched my cheek as if to hide my embarrassment. What was this about being a weapons enthusiast?

“I’ve never seen that sword you have on your belt… It probably has a name. But I’d expect no less from someone like you.”

“Well, it’s definitely not a common weapon.”

“I had my share of good swords at my store, but this disaster crushed it all… It’s possible that some of them found their way into treasure chests here, but it would be nearly impossible to find them.”

“I couldn’t find a trace of my store either… Though, I did manage to save my money…”

People who lived in these towns were responsible for their own safety. But it was still hard to not be sympathetic. To think that something you worked so hard to build up could vanish like that… How much money had been saved up to build those houses? How many prized possessions were lost? I couldn’t imagine how it must feel.

“Well, I started from nothing in the first place. I can build it all up again.”

“Indeed. I have a fresh start as well.”

“…Huh. You two are awfully optimistic.”

It was almost shocking how positive they were.

“Both Lime and I used to be Adventurers. All I need is one sword and I’ll eventually have items to sell again.”

“Ah. So all of your products are from dungeons then?”

“Exactly.”

He sold things found in treasure chests. I see. In that case, he just needed to go dungeon crawling and finish quests and he would eventually be back in business.

“I have a lot of connections I made while traveling around, so I shouldn’t have too much trouble getting back on my feet. But until then, I think I’ll go back to hunting a little so I can save up some money.”

Yes, very positive. It didn’t matter how bad the damage was as long as you were alive. A lesson I could learn… I tended to get discouraged a lot. I would have to be more determined to get up and continue on. Besides, Daniela was with me. I could do it. And on the other hand, if Daniela ever fell to her knees, I would be there to help her up. We had decided to live together and support each other…

“Alight. In order to start again, let’s get rid of this thing that Rex fears!”

“Sorry to trouble you…”

“It’s fine. It’s the least we can do.”

“…Aye. Then I’ll leave it to you! I want to see you in action once again!”

I nodded at Rex and turned to Daniela and the others. They were prepared to go.

“We’re ready.”

“This is exciting.”

“I’ll fight too.”

“Alright then. Let’s go and hunt this monster!”

I couldn’t wait to see what she looked like!

□ □ □ □

The monster’s presence grew stronger as we left the room and continued down the passage. I could see that we would have to turn a corner a little bit farther on. That’s where we would likely meet it.

“As it is a spider-type monster, its attacks will generally involve webs, fangs, and poison. But you already knew that, right?”

I nodded to Daniela.

“However, this is a dungeon. The monsters here are quite different. According to Rex, this one is half-human. So it must have hands and be able to use weapons. We must also consider that.”

I was wearing a snow Arachne cape right now. Those snow Arachne were not dungeon monsters. They lived in some cold, snow-covered land. Maybe the cold helped them adapt. Breeding in rediculous numbers probably helped

“Like fighting a human…huh. That’s not comforting.”

“Have you fought many humans, Manager?”

“Well, yes. My hands aren’t exactly clean.”

That’s what it meant to live in this world. You couldn’t stay clean. I was pretty dirty myself.

“…Let’s go then.”

Daniela’s hand came to lay on top of mine as I stared at it. Then she squeezed it and nodded towards me.

We would go in the same formation with Manager in the lead.

She slowly poked her head out. I was already holding my sword and was prepared to jump out.

“There it is…”

Manager gestured for me to come, and so I snuck over and looked. There was a wide-open chamber that was covered in spider webs. As for the monster itself, it was in the center of the room. The spider girl. The Arachne.

“Ah-ha…”

“You really need to restrain yourself in times like this…”

“It’s times like this when some dreams come true.”

It was similar to a silk spider in coloring. Yellow and black. Its multiple eyes were red. It had its left side towards us. As for the human body that protruded from the top, it was a woman, just like Rex had said. The stomach was nicely toned and the skin was so pale you’d think she had all of the blood drained from her. The breasts were large but were, unfortunately, lacking nipples. The face was of a young woman and very pretty. But there was something in the expression that suggested she was not as young as she looked. The black hair had streaks of yellow in it to match the rest of the body. As someone who liked punk, I thought it was a nice touch. The overall appearance was rather appealing. Damn it. Sometimes I really wished I had my smartphone! Or knew how to draw! This was an image that should be saved!

“It saw us!”

“Huh!?”

“You were breathing way too loud!”

“Asagi!!”

“It’s not my fault!!”

No matter how you looked at it, it definitely was my fault.

“Damn it. Let’s go!”

“It’s not! It’s not!”

“Shut up! Let’s hurry!”

“What’s gotten into you, Lemon!”

Lemon pushed me forward as we burst into the chamber. The Arachne was already heading in our direction, and our eyes met. Of course, the eyes on the top half. While the swaying chest was distracting, it was hard to take your eyes off of those red pupils. There was a strong will there. It made me wonder if she could talk.

“Wait. We have no intention of-ggaaah!!”

Something kicked me from behind.

“Have you gone mad? Get out of the way!”

I rolled into a wall. While Daniela’s insult hurt a little, I now understood what she meant. Whatever will I had sensed was just the will to kill. It wanted to kill us so desperately. I was fully awake now… I could hardly forgive myself for getting distracted like that. There was no doubt about it, this Arachne was a monster.

“Alright, I’m awake now. I’m back!”

“Good. Then do something about those webs!”

“Got it!”

I thrust my sword into the ground and gathered indigo blue magic to my hands. I knew that this was what I had to do.

And so I clapped my hands together loudly. Bam! The sound echoed, and just as everyone’s movements stopped, I slammed my hands onto the ground; activating Frostheim. The frost began to spread throughout the room and freeze the webs.

“Sorry that it’s not real alchemy!”

“Caution really means nothing to you!”

I could hear Manager shout, but I was busy. This was no time for caution. I sent magic into my hands once again and created a frost sword as I stood up. Manager sighed. The frost sword was in my left hand and the Black Emperor Sword was in my right. A black sword and a pale white sword. I almost wished I was wearing a black coat to match.

“Alright. Let’s end this now! I’ve already been kicked!”

The Arachne seemed startled and took a few steps back. I charged. It was easy to pass Daniela and Manager while they were going for their weapons. After all, I had Legs of the God Wolf. The platinum and green wind that enveloped my legs gave me a sense of security as if it would take me anywhere.

I dashed forward and then climbed up the air and did a backflip near the ceiling. I landed upside-down on the ceiling and then jumped again. My wind dragon clothes flapped wildly as I raised both hands up and then down towards my back. Then I swung down with both swords.

“Haaaaah!!”

The Arachne raised her right arm to shield herself, which resulted in her arm promptly being severed twice. But my attack didn’t stop there. I ran upward as if there was a wall in front of me and planted my accel panther boot right into her pretty face. The Arachne stumbled. Then I unleashed a wind boost around my feet and slid towards the ground and to her flank. There, I slashed at the spider legs. I took two with every hit. That was four with both blades. The Arachne could no longer maintain its balance and started to fall in my direction. I discarded the frost sword and held the Black Emperor Sword in both hands and used Jack of all Trades, Master of None to ensure a quick and precise swing. And like that, the Arachne’s upper half was split from the bottom half as it tumbled to the ground.

“Phew…”

I sheathed my sword and sighed. So, now the monster that had chased Rex was killed. Just then, I saw him peeking at us from behind the corner. At the same time, I heard him mutter.

“We should just leave everything to him…”